Hidden Secrets
by Wise Angel192
Summary: Tenten is currently dating the famous Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuuga Neji is her best friend. What could possibly go wrong with two prodigies to protect and care for her? [Full Sum. inside] [NejiTenSasu] [Please R&R] [WARNING: Anorexia and Bulimia]
1. Chapter 1

**Hidden Secrets**

**Genre:** Drama

**Info:** Tenten is currently dating the famous Uchiha Sasuke and THE Hyuuga Neji is her best friend. What could possibly go wrong with two prodigies there to protect her and care for her? With pressure from Sasuke and the other girls, she develops a complex eating disorder called bulimia nervosa and begins to purge her food.

**WARNINGS:** Eating Disorders (anorexia and bulimia) and possible OOC.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

* * *

_A 12-year old Tenten ran freely through an empty training ground. She then did a cart wheel, followed by a round off, landing right in front of the white-eyed Hyuuga prodigy, Neji. "You've been keeping secrets from me." Tenten said in a joking tone. "Hn. How so?" the Hyuuga prodigy questioned. "well, a little green bird told me that you like someone." she continued in a mocking tone. "Hn." "So it is true?" "Hn. It is not." "Really.." "Hn, really." "Are you sure?.." "Hn. Yes, believe me, if I knew, I would tell you."_

Tenten P.O.V.

'That was then. In the end, It was me who ended up keeping the secrets.'

My name is Tenten, I'm currently seventeen years old, and this is my life story.

I suppose the bulk of my problems started when I was thirteen, about a year after I had become a genin, to be more specific, it was when I started training for my first chuunin exam. That also just happened to be around the time Neji's fangirl's were most vicious.

The day Gai-sensei told us about the upcoming exam, Lee, Neji, and I went out for a bite to eat to celebrate. We went to our favorite dango shop. We found a vacant table close to a window with three chairs around it. We had cooperatively decided that Neji would go order, I would get the napkins and straws, while Lee would try not to get too excited, and just wait at the table.

As I walked over to the condiment counter to retrieve the napkins and straws, I overheard a few fangirls talking.

"Like oh my gosh, isn't that OUR Neji?!" one fangirl squealed.

"Yeah, and he's like with his totally bushy-browed freak of a teammate." replied another one of the girls.

Then another continued the loud, disruptive conversation, "Oh, and that like fat weapons girl. Like seriously, I'm surprised she can still manage to jump up into the air to throw weapons at OUR handsome Neji!"

"Like totally true. I mean, like doesn't she already weigh a lot, why does she bother carrying all those weapons that she can't even hit Neji-kun with. Like, they're just making her even MORE heavier!"

"And that hairstyle of hers, it just makes her cheeks look fatter." At this statement, I reached up and touched my left cheek. I was so appalled by their horrendous conversation, that I quickly grabbed three straws and a bunch of napkins and stormed off.

Little did I know, the 'mean girls' just said all of it as a plot. "So," the leader of the fangirl pack said in a malicious tone, "do you think she heard us?" "I think so." answered one of her lackeys. They then all had laughed, but of course, I didn't learn about their plot until I wound up in the hospital.

As I reached our table, Neji sat the food and drinks on it and sat down. I followed in suit, sitting myself down as well. He moved my food in front of me, sesame dango of course, my favorite. I looked at it, then looked up at my two male teammates and asked, "Do you think I'm fat?" At first, Lee looked at me quizzically, then answered with something about youth. I ignored his bizarre response and looked toward Neji.

"Hn. You are not. Why are you asking this anyway?" Neji questioned coolly.

"Well, I don't know, I mean I'm just making sure I guess."

"Hn."

You see, growing up, I had weight issues, until maybe around the age of ten. However, it still makes me conscious whenever someone even suggests I'm fat or brings up anything about weight. At that time, because of my consciousness, even hearing Neji's valid response, I denied my own best friends' words, and went by thinking that I was fat.

Later that day, walking out of the dango shop, I heard one of the girls mumble something about me not being able to pass the chuunin exam since I probably wouldn't be able to keep myself balanced because of my weight. After hearing that, I began to ponder on whether or not my being overweight would affect my performance during the test. From that point until after the exam, I avoided eating.

The first few times I skipped meals, I felt dizzy and sick, but eventually, my body adjusted to my abnormal eating habits, which consisted of not eating, or barely eating anything at all, if you could count it as eating. Also, if I felt that I had eaten too much, I would engage in at least one hour of vigorous exercise for every extra ounce I ate, on top of my usual daily spars with Neji, that got more intense as the test date grew closer. When it was time to eat, I avoided it by saying that I wasn't hungry, or that I had eaten a lot the meal before. I kept telling myself that I would only do this until I lost ten pounds, and within the first week, I had successfully lost those ten pounds, however, I became obsessed with losing more weight.

At that time, I did not know that I had become anorexic or the consequences were to come. However, that day came during my preliminary match against that Temari of the sand girl, when she had defeated me so easily. All my food deprivation had finally caused my energy to be completely depleted, and thus, I lost. Not because of my _being_ overweight, but because of my obsession with _not becoming_ overweight.

I woke up in the hospital the next morning with my sobbing parents at my side. Neji was there as well, and as I read his hidden emotions, I saw sadness, anguish, and a hint of frustration.

When my parents saw that I had awoken, their first instinct was to hug my to smithereens, then they began to scold me. They asked what I was thinking, and I merely answered "I don't know." They continued to give me a long lecture, at which I the end, I promised not to starve myself again.

They gave me one last hug before exiting out of her room, leaving Neji and I alone. For a moment, silence spread between us and he just stared in my direction. Then he spoke, restating the same things my parents said, except in a much more calmer tone. He too made me promise to not purposely starve myself again. Then, he did something so unlike him, he leaned over and gave me a hug.

He then followed through the door at from which my parents had walked out of moments earlier.

That day, I had made a promise to not starve myself anymore to two sets of people, my parents, and my best friend. And I didn't break that promise, not _quite _that is..

The next day, they brought me to rehab where I would have to stay for about a month or two to get better.

For the first few days, they had to force feed me. Eventually, I opted to not struggle, and just swallow the food, trying not to think how much weight I was gaining from it.

Every now and then, the nurses would let me outside for some fresh air, however, I had to come back before all meals. Little did they know, when I went around town for some fresh air, I was actually helping Neji train for the main matches. The nurses were even kind enough to let me go to the main matches. When Neji lost, I went to go talk to him, but my nurse cut my visit short and brought me back to the rehabilitation center.

For a while, I did not leave again, nor did Neji visit me like he had done every other day. However, the next time Neji had stopped by, he told me of the 3rd Hokage's demise.

Within a few days, I walked down the streets of Konoha with my comrades, wearing a black kimono which hung loosely on my still recovering body. No one spoke of my condition going to or at the 3rd's funeral, however, I do believe that I heard a few murmurs afterward as we were leaving. Neji, who took the liberty of walking me back to the rehab facility, merely sent them death glares. I pretended to not notice, but I think that he realized that their intense gazes and constant whispering were bothering me.

As Neji and I had continued to walk down the winding streets, we finally turned the last corner before seeing the large gated white two story building at which I had to stay. As I walked into the large metal gates, I realized that that day would've been the last time I'd be let out into the town until they thought that I was well enough to release. Let's just say the nurses found out I was training with Neji.

I turned once more to wave a quick goodbye to Neji before I walked through the doors of the secluded building, and he nodded in response.

----------

I stayed in that building for two months straight, with only a few short visits from my parents and Neji. The doctors and nurses limited their visits to 10 minutes a week, and let no one else visit for reasons that shall not be divulged in full detail for the explanation would be way too long. Let's just say that due to my guests' 'disruptive behavior' - Lee and Gai too noisy, Hinata kept fainting, Sakura, who at that time would soon begin to face a problem similar to mine, and Ino would burst out crying for who knows why.. Etc, etc. The staff decided that Neji was the only sane friend that I had, and as for my parents, they had no choice but to let them in.

Anyways, during those two months, there would be days where they had to practically shove the food down my throat, and days where I full on binged. However, my few binge episodes would make me want to exercise more, returning me to square one once again.

Eventually, by some miracle, the staff managed to make some kind of break through with my condition, and I began to eat normally again.

Soon, they let me go home, however, I still had to attend a seminar session once a week and follow a strict diet that they gave me.

As soon as they gave me my 'walking papers', my parents picked me up and brought me home.

Later that afternoon, I went out for a walk around town. As I walked through the streets, I soon reached the town park. I gently sat on a nearby bench, closed my eyes, and let the warmth of the sunlight burn on my once again tan skin.

* * *

A/N: Hey everyone, I just wanted to say thanks for reading this. I hope that you found it interesting. Please let me know what you think, but please don't flame. Please R and R. Also, this is the prologue, so just to let you know, it explains that she used to be anorexic. Just thought that I'd say that to stop future confusion since in the summary, it says that she is bulimic, and in the chapter, it says that she was anorexic. Also, can anyone guess who the 'little green bird' was?

Chapter Preview:

"Tenten, we're so glad to see you!" A female voice spoke to me. "So much has happened lately, we have to catch you up."

-Wise Angel192


	2. Chapter 2

**Hidden Secrets**

Genre: Drama

Info: Tenten is currently dating the famous Uchiha Sasuke and THE Hyuuga Neji is her best friend. What could possibly go wrong with two prodigies there to protect her and care for her? With pressure from Sasuke and the other girls, she develops a complex eating disorder called bulimia nervosa and begins to purge her food.

Warnings: Eating Disorders and possible OOC.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

A/N: Wow, I am so sorry for the late update! I've been really busy, and I haven't been able to work on this story. This is the 2nd chapter. I hope you enjoy it. Also, I know that I said that the last chapter was the prologue, but I decided that I wanted to go more in depth with Tenten's explanation of the past and how the current situation came to be, I think that it will help with the flow of the story more, and help to make upcoming events more understandable.

Also, mad props to my readers and reviewers. I think all of you are awesome! I'd like to give special thanks to _Kimberly (anon.), __WeaponsMistress, xSodapopxxYa dig, Rukia Chan9, GeishaBabe192, Tsukiko Yuki, nejitenrocks, 0-TenteN-0, Blossoms of Spring, and Matahari _for reviewing! Now, on to the story…….

* * *

As I sat on the cool concrete park bench with my eye lids closed, a gentle breeze blew by, causing fallen stray strands of my hair to float softly in the wind.

For a moment, it was silent, except for the occasional bird chirping or children's laughter. And then, once that moment passed, a loud, slightly obnoxious feminine voice came, "Tenten, we are so glad to see you! We have so much to catch you up on."

It was Ino, as she had said this, the blonde put both of her hands onto each one of my shoulders, causing me to jump a little in surprise. I shrugged her palms from my shaky shoulders, responding with a smile and a "Hi Ino."

I looked to the side of the medium height girl, and saw two other girls with smiling faces. "Hey Hinata, Sakura!" I spoke, once again adorning my round, but not too round, face with a cheeky grin.

"Hello Tenten-c-chan." Hinata stuttered out.

"Hey Tenten!" Sakura said excitedly.

These girls, they were a year younger than me, yet over the years, we managed to become really great friends. I suppose it was because my friends, who are the same age as me are always away on missions when I'm not, and vice versa. It seems that our schedules just didn't fit, resulting with me always hanging out with my guy friends, and an extreme lack of girl talk on my part.

When Neji got over his hatred toward the main family, I instantaneously became friends with Hinata, since it seemed like I was always at the Hyuuga Compound. She ended up introducing me to Sakura and Ino.

Anyways, back to what happened then.

"So, what's been going on lately?" I questioned enthusiastically.

"O-oh," Hinata spoke while handing me a beige envelope with the Hyuuga seal on it, "th-this is from N-Neji-ni-san. He asked me to give it to you."

"Oh, okay, thanks."

"Anyways," Ino cut in, "So a few days ago, Naruto, Neji, Kiba, Chouji, and Shikamaru, Shika is the team leader, went on a mission to get Sasuke back."

"Back, when did he leave?" I asked innocently.

"Oh, well when you were 'getting better', Sasuke ran off with a group from the sound village." Ino said smoothly, as if it was just another piece of gossip meant to be dished.

I looked over to the other two girls in the group, Hinata looked like she was concerned, probably for Naruto and Kiba, and Sakura, well, she seemed to have a blank stare on her face, pointed in the direction of the ground. The expression on my face turned from a carefree one to a concerned one that was directed toward Sakura.

After a few moments, Ino sensed the awkward silence and directed her gaze back to us from the space around at which she was looking at. She saw Hinata's face, then mine staring at Sakura's, and finally, she too noticed the blank look on her pink haired best friend's face.

The blonde's hard face then melted into one full of sympathy, her blue eyes held an apologetic gaze.

"Sakura," she spoke softly, "I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to pinch a nerve. I-I can s-stop if you want." Ino finished up in a very Hinata-ish manner.

"No, don't, it's okay, Tenten should know, so go ahead and tell her." Sakura cut in.

"B-but Sakura, it's not my story to tell. It's yours."

"It's okay, go ahead and tell her."

"Are you sure?" asked the somewhat confused mind transferring kunoichi.

"Yes." the pinkette released in a low soft voice.

I looked up toward Ino who was standing right in front of me, somewhat eager for her to continue, and continue she did.

"Well, a few nights ago, as I have mentioned, Sasuke left with four shinobi from the Sound Village, who call themselves the sound four. Supposedly, he left that night to seek greater power to defeat his older brother, Itachi. He left in the middle of the night, since normally, most people were asleep already, and he figured that way, there wouldn't be such a big fuss about his departure, however, one person was up and currently taking a walk around the village, and she spotted him." she breathed in deeply and paused for dramatic effect, "and that girl was...Sakura." Ino looked toward Sakura for a second, who nodded in consent to let the melodramatic narrator continue.

After seeing the nod from Sakura, Ino had continued, while I sat quietly, listening intently, as Hinata did the same, recalling what she had been told earlier.

"Sakura already had a gut feeling what Sasuke was doing up so late…rather early, upon seeing the backpack placed on his back and the direction he was walking, her suspicions were confirmed. He was indeed attempting to leave the village. She walked out in front of him, blocking his current path, he simply side-stepped her a few inches and walked right pass her as tears came threateningly close to falling. As he went farther, the pent up tears seeped from her emerald eyes. She spoke with a soft voice, asking him to stop, then in a more serious intense tone she said that if he went any further, she would scream. For a moment, it was as if time had stopped as more tears rolled slowly down her face and a light breeze blew by their still bodies. Within seconds, Sasuke was standing directly behind her. He slowly breathed the following words into her ear," Ino took another pause for intrigue, then continued in a voice worthy of imitating the Uchiha prodigy's, "'Sakura…thank you.' With those words said, he knocked her unconscious, and two shinobi carrying paperwork found her lying asleep on a cold, hard concrete bench nearby the next morning, with Sakura," she paused and looked over to Sakura, "awakening and screaming Sasuke's name. From there, she was brought to the Hokage's office to tell the tale. So that's what happened."

"Oh." I managed to let escape from my slightly rosy lips.

"Yeah, so that's when Sasuke left and why the boys left on the mission."

"Oh, I see," I spoke, "well," I turned and gave a comforting look to Sakura, "I'm sure they will get him back. After all, they do have some of the best shinobi on the case. Well actually," I said a bit skeptically, "they could have been done by now if they had us with them, after all, they are not as good without the kunoichi's on their team, eh?" I questioned as I gave all three girls a humorous wink.

At may antics, Sakura laughed, then smiled as she said, "That's true, if we were with them," she points to each of us, "Sasuke would be back already." At her statement, we all laughed.

Once again, the mood was returned to the light-hearted one that was there earlier before Ino explained the whole situation.

"Hey Ino, I didn't know you could be so good at describing things" I sputtered out then continued, "and did I hear you call Shikamaru, Shika? What is that, a pet name?"

"No, it most certainly is not!" the blue-eyed girl defended.

The lavender-eyed Hinata and pink-haired Sakura snickered along, earning a minor glare from Ino.

"Besides," Ino said changing the subject, "I have some major gossip to dish about. Who care's about that lazy freak?" Hinata, Sakura, and I exchanged looks.

"Hey," Ino spoke as she pulled us off the bench, "I saw that! Anyways, let's go grab a bite to eat, I'm starved. You know, the Barbeque place finally got salads, and I hear they have a great raspberry vinaigrette dressing."

"Ino, I just got out of rehab, I would rather eat something more than a salad, I haven't had a proper meal in months. I'm majorly craving some carbohydrates and protein - I.e. meat," I said.

"Well, it's not _my_ fault that _you_ decided to go on that _anti-food_ path," she said jokingly, "plus, it's a B-B-Q restaurant, meaning BARBEQUE as in MEAT, or have you forgotten that BBQ restaurants have meat while you were in the loony bin?"

I gave her a half-hearted offended look.

"Tenten, have you forgotten that I'm such an awesome actress that I can spot when someone is acting?" She asked boastfully, while quirking up an eyebrow. "Plus, your heart wasn't quite into the act this time."

She knew how good of an actress I was, in fact, they all know now, for over a year, I had managed to fool everyone into thinking that I was all right, even though I wasn't. In fact, I was so good, I had even fooled myself.

I shrugged off the thought about my past, and just decided to deal with what was to come, although at that time, I didn't expect what happened in the past to happen again in the future.

Anyways, once again, back to the story.

"Hey Ino," I exclaimed, "so what was that gossip you were dying to tell me?"

"Oh gosh," she ranted as the four of us walked to the restaurant, "Well, you know Shojo Takara, right?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well, she goes out with Somoti Mohiro."

"Really, but isn't she like 16 and he's like 12?" I questioned with pure interest.

"Yeah, well, evidently, since her 'Anbu boyfriend' got sent on a mission, she was left dateless for the upcoming festival, and Mohiro just happened to be the first boy to ask her after she heard the news of her boyfriend's departure."

"Wow. She went from dating an Anbu black ops to a newbie genin, all because of a festival?"

"Yep." As Ino had spoken that particular bit of scandal, we arrived at the BBQ restaurant and walked in.

End Chapter 2.

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Chapter 3 Preview

As I was about to lay down on my bed, I had suddenly remembered the letter Hinata had given to me. I pulled it out of my pocket, I gently unflapped the Hyuuga seal, then broke it, opening the envelope and pulling out the letter, which was written on fine Hyuuga stationary.

The letter read…

_Dear Tenten,_

…

And to this day, I still have that letter sitting in one of my old antique jewelry boxes.

A/N: So, how was it? Tell me what you think. I hope you didn't find this chapter too boring, more action will come as the story progresses. I just had to set the story up for the action. Also, in the next few chapters or so, I'm going to start writing in the time period the fic is supposed to be taking place in. Anyways, please R&R. Thanks for reading. By the way, no, this story is not going to end up being Sakura-centric even though there are going to be parts that have to do with her.

-Wise Angel192


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